Curriculum

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Literacy

Literacy skills are given a high priority at Ceres Primary School. The daily Literacy Block incorporates two hours of Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening.

Reading is a valued and empowering activity which enables students to construct meaning and make sense of their world. At Ceres Primary School we incorporate the Literacy CAFE System which helps students understand and master the four key components of successful reading:

Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary.

The CAFE Menu breaks each component—comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and expanding vocabulary—into significant strategies that support each goal. Posted on the classroom wall and built throughout the year, it serves as a visual reminder of whole-class instruction as well as individual student goals.

Teachers use The CAFE System to assess, instruct, and monitor student progress. It provides tools for constructing group and individual lessons that provide just-in-time instruction, ensuring that all students reach their potential.

During the Writing block teachers incorporate the Seven Steps program into their lessons. Isolating writing skills into individual steps ensures students don’t get ‘bogged down’ with writing the whole piece. They gain confidence in each building block, and then they pull it all together to become creative and engaging writers. The Seven Steps are Plan For Success, Sizzling Starts, Tightening Tension, Dynamic Dialogue, Show, Don’t Tell, Ban The Boring and Exciting Endings.

There is also a strong focus on the teaching of handwriting, spelling, punctuation and grammar. Students are taught specific speaking and listening skills in areas such as vocabulary, following instructions, expressing opinions, conversing with others, phonics and grammar.